Malargüe

Malargüe
Malargüe
City
	Plaza San Martin
	Malargüe Location of Malargüe in Argentina
	Coordinates: 35°28.5′S 69°35′W / 35.4750°S 69.583°W
Country	Argentina
Province	Mendoza
Department	Malargüe
Elevation	1,402 m (4,600 ft)
Population (2010 census)
• Total	27,660
Time zone	UTC−3 (ART)
CPA base	M5613
Dialing code	+54 2627
Climate	BSk

Malargüe (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈlaɾɣwe]) is a city in the southwest part of province of Mendoza, Argentina, about 370 km south of the provincial capital Mendoza. It is the head town of the Malargüe Department, and it has about 27,000 inhabitants as per the 2010 census [INDEC].

Overview

The city is located in a semi-arid area. Agriculture is focused on the production of seed potato, along with minor crops such as alfalfa, onion and garlic. In the past, the local industries included oil exploration and production (now almost completely deactivated) and uranium mining. As a touristic area, Malargüe provides hotels and cabins for visitors interested in eco-tourism in the summer and skiing in the winter at the nearby resorts of Las Leñas and Los Molles.

The city is known for its traditional dish, the chivito (baby goat). It hosts the annual National Festival of the Goat and the Provincial Festival of the Lamb, during the second week of January.

Clock tower in the city center
Las Animas well

History

1972

On 13 October 1972 the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes, in the municipal territory of Malargüe (34°45′54″S 70°17′11″W / 34.76500°S 70.28639°W / -34.76500; -70.28639).

Climate

Malargüe's climate is dry and relatively cold. It is a semi-arid climate under the Köppen climate classification. Summers bring very warm days (the average high is 28 °C (82 °F)) and cool nights (11 °C (52 °F)), with sporadic thunderstorms occurring. By March or early April, frost is to be expected, and during the winter (May to September), wild fluctuations of temperature can occur: the average high is 11 °C (52 °F) and the average low is −2 °C (28 °F), but northwesterly winds that blow downslope from the Andes can bring temperatures of 25 °C (77 °F), and extreme Antarctic outbreaks will bring periods of snow, daytime highs well below 0 °C (32 °F) and night lows well below −12 °C (10 °F).

Climate data for Malargüe, Mendoza, Argentina (1991–2020, extremes 1958–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	36.9 (98.4)	37.0 (98.6)	33.6 (92.5)	30.7 (87.3)	28.6 (83.5)	27.4 (81.3)	28.5 (83.3)	29.4 (84.9)	31.0 (87.8)	33.0 (91.4)	34.0 (93.2)	36.5 (97.7)	37.0 (98.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	29.1 (84.4)	27.2 (81.0)	25.0 (77.0)	20.0 (68.0)	15.3 (59.5)	12.5 (54.5)	11.8 (53.2)	14.2 (57.6)	17.0 (62.6)	20.5 (68.9)	24.4 (75.9)	27.5 (81.5)	20.4 (68.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	20.6 (69.1)	18.9 (66.0)	16.4 (61.5)	11.5 (52.7)	7.4 (45.3)	4.7 (40.5)	3.8 (38.8)	5.8 (42.4)	8.7 (47.7)	12.5 (54.5)	16.2 (61.2)	19.2 (66.6)	12.1 (53.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	11.6 (52.9)	10.7 (51.3)	8.9 (48.0)	4.8 (40.6)	1.5 (34.7)	−1.0 (30.2)	−2.3 (27.9)	−1.1 (30.0)	1.3 (34.3)	4.4 (39.9)	7.3 (45.1)	10.0 (50.0)	4.7 (40.5)
Record low °C (°F)	0.5 (32.9)	−1.3 (29.7)	−6.1 (21.0)	−6.9 (19.6)	−12.0 (10.4)	−18.0 (−0.4)	−24.6 (−12.3)	−15.6 (3.9)	−11.4 (11.5)	−6.4 (20.5)	−3.9 (25.0)	−1.1 (30.0)	−24.6 (−12.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	22.7 (0.89)	32.4 (1.28)	30.2 (1.19)	30.4 (1.20)	30.4 (1.20)	33.5 (1.32)	24.4 (0.96)	26.9 (1.06)	17.4 (0.69)	24.5 (0.96)	25.9 (1.02)	21.9 (0.86)	320.6 (12.62)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	5.3	6.0	4.5	4.0	5.3	5.5	4.2	4.5	4.3	4.4	3.6	4.1	55.7
Average snowy days	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	1.2	2.0	2.9	3.2	2.3	0.9	0.1	0.0	12.9
Average relative humidity (%)	43.8	50.3	55.4	60.6	63.7	61.9	59.8	53.7	49.2	44.9	40.9	40.0	52.0
Mean monthly sunshine hours	341.0	279.7	266.6	219.0	179.8	162.0	182.9	210.8	234.0	269.7	312.0	344.1	3,001.6
Mean daily sunshine hours	11.0	9.9	8.6	7.3	5.8	5.4	5.9	6.8	7.8	8.7	10.4	11.1	8.2
Percent possible sunshine	78.5	70.8	66.5	60.1	57.5	50.6	58.2	59.6	62.2	65.4	72.9	76.5	64.9
Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (percent sun 1991–2000)^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Transport and infrastructures

Transportation

Malargüe is linked to the north of Mendoza by National Route 40. This route continues south, entering Neuquén Province, but is only partially built and not well maintained beyond Malargüe City.

Air traffic in the area (only local flights) is served by the Comodoro D. Ricardo Salomón Airport. Aerolíneas Argentinas and American Jet offer services, as of 2021, to this airport.

Astronomic and space center

Malargüe is also home to the Pierre Auger Observatory, an international physics experiment searching for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.

The European Space Agency began construction of a deep space ground station 30 km south of Malargüe in 2010.^[7] It became operational in early 2013 Malargüe Station and is the third 35m dish in its ESTRACK network.

References

^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales - período 1991-2020" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales – período 1991–2020" (PDF) (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
^ "Estadística climatológica de la República Argentina Período 1991-2000" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
^ "Clima en la Argentina: Guia Climática por Malargüe Aero". Caracterización: Estadísticas de largo plazo (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
^ "Heladas de Argentina" (in Spanish). Universidad de Buenos Aires. Archived from the original on 4 March 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ "87506: Malargue Aerodrome (Argentina)". ogimet.com. OGIMET. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
^ ESA to build its third deep space ground station in Argentina

External links

Municipal information: Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina. (in Spanish)
Municipality of Malargüe — Official website.
Pierre Auger Observatory.